When Love Comes Knocking
by SVUlover13
Summary: Set after season 15, but Lewis and Noah didn't happen. It was just another year. Elliot comes back into Olivia's life. Things quickly get back to the way they were before friendship wise. The question is will things go to places they never have before? And if they do will it stay happy? Rated M for later chapters
1. The Knock

**Author's Note (Please read):** I started writing this story about a year ago, so if there are any inconsistencies regarding the time in the beginning let me know and I will fix it. This is my first long story. Warning you now, I'm not sure how often I will be able to update, but I will never leave this story unfinished. I understand how frustrating it is. I will try and update as often as possible. Any mistakes I made are my fault as I have no beta. If you find a mistake again let me know and I will fix it. Really hesitant to put this up, because I'm not sure how you guys will enjoy it. Other than that I hope you guys enjoy this story and here goes nothing.

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They all belong to Dick Wolf. Trust me if I owned them, Benson and Stabler would have gotten together, and the show would have needed to be moved to HBO.**

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It had been 3 years, 3 long, agonizing, torturous years. 3 years since that fateful day in the precinct. She didn't know her life would change that drastically. She figured he would take some time off, regroup, and come back. She didn't know he would never come back. She would never have guessed she would never see or talk to him again. Not so much as an 'I'm sorry', or goodbye. He was just gone. Cragen was the one who had to tell her he wasn't coming back. When she heard those words she tried to keep herself together, but that lasted about all of three minutes. She found an empty interrogation room and cried. Olivia wasn't one to let her emotions out, especially in a place where someone could find her. This had really shaken up her world.

Next she was made to pack up his desk. She guessed Cragen probably thought it was some sort of closure, but it was pure torture. She had so much trouble holding together for a while. She would go off to an interrogation room or the bathroom and just cry. Things were so hard for her to handle. Cases were not the same. She would surround herself in cases even more than she use to just to try to keep from thinking about him. After a while Cragen stopped kicking her out, he would just let her stay there. They all hated seeing what this was doing to her. She wasn't the same Bad-Ass Benson everyone knew and loved. She was just a shell of what she used to be.

Eventually two new rookies came to the unit. At first she would do anything not to work with them, but Cragen had set her straight about that. She eventually tried getting along with her new partner, Nick Amaro. Amaro would never be _him_ though. Nick was young, kind, green at the job; he had been in the military. He was good looking, and Catholic. He was married, with a daughter. His wife was in the military and stationed over in Iraq.

Cragen really knows who to partner her with she thought. She couldn't have been partnered with the other female in the unit now. Nick was like a younger, more open, knock off version of Elliot. She guessed Cragen thought it would bring a lot of familiarity, and she would return to normal. She eventually learned to trust Nick, and they worked really well together. They would never be as good as her and _him_, but it would be about as close as they could get.

Her love life is a different story. She knew she loved him, but if anyone would ever ask her she would deny it until the end of time. She had thought he had felt the same way, but it was obvious to her he didn't. She finally thought she had met someone who wouldn't break her heart in David Haden. She was mistaken. He chose the job over her. She was sort of upset, but wasn't entirely heartbroken because, after all, he wasn't the man she truly loved. Then there was Brian Cassidy. After the undercover stuff and Cragen's issue, he had been there to clear Cragen, and put away Bart Ganzel and Delia Wilson. Things were going great for a while. She got past all the stuff from their one night stand 13 years ago. Things were starting to get serious, and she was feeling comfortable in the relationship like a good pair of jeans. Sadly, she always had one man on her mind when it was inconvenient. She hadn't called out his name in bed or anything yet. She just constantly dreamt about him and at work thought about how he would do things. Eventually Brian had caught on and told her he couldn't live in the shadows of a man who wasn't coming back. She told him he wasn't, but it wasn't believable.

So there she was alone, again, sitting in her apartment, with a glass of wine. The girls had been trying to get her to go out but she just wasn't feeling up to it tonight for some reason. Work had been pretty stress free surprisingly, mainly paperwork and Cragen told them to leave and enjoy the evening. She didn't feel like sitting in the precinct, so she went home. She wasn't on call this weekend which was a major shock. She was almost hoping Cragen would call her anyway and tell her someone was sick and she was needed on a case. It was 8:30 on a Friday night and she decided to curl up on the couch and watch a movie. She needed a comedy so she decided to watch White Chicks. It always kept he mind off of things because she couldn't stop laughing. She was about half an hour into the movie when someone knocked on her apartment door. She was shocked because she hadn't buzzed anyone in and her Chinese food was already there and eaten. She thought maybe she was hearing things so ignored it. A few minutes later she heard it again. She was getting creeped out and so went to her bedroom and grabbed her gun from her dresser and walked to the door. She didn't bother checking her peep hole because she knew whoever it was would leave when she pulled her gun. She carefully opened her door to find _him_ standing there getting ready to knock again. When she saw who it was she didn't know whether to slam the door in his face or hug him. She chose the former and it almost hit him.

"Liv…" she heard from the other side of the door.

She opened up the door; with a fury so deep in her eyes he was truly terrified of her.

"NO! NO! NO! You don't get to call me Liv. You are lucky I am even letting you live to tell you this. You don't get to walk in and out of my life when it is convenient for you. You don't know what you leaving without so much as a goodbye did to me. I don't want anything to do with you." She screamed.

"Calm down your neighbors are going to come out and complain. If you will let me come in and tell you what happened then we can go from there." He calmly suggested.

"Not happening, you can march your ass right back to where you came from and leave me and my life alone." She gritted through her teeth. She went to slam the door in his face for the second time that night, but his reflexes were still sharp and he stopped the door with his foot before she got the chance. She turned around to see him hot on her heels. She turned around and slapped him causing him to stumble backwards and almost fall to the ground. She had walked back to the couch and sat down staring at him with a look that would have killed him. He starts walking towards her, but she gets up and walks towards him as though to attack him again. She raises her arm again to strike him, but this time he anticipates it and grabs her arm. She tries fighting him off, but his grip isn't loose enough. He then pulled her in for a hug she doesn't fight it anymore. She enjoys being in his embrace, but she is still pissed beyond hell with him. After standing there for a few moments in silence, Elliot spoke up first.

"We need to talk…" He spoke softly into her hair, and then proceeded to lead her to her couch.

They sat there in silence for five minutes, trying to figure out what to say and who was going to speak first. Finally, after the silence became too much Olivia talked.

"Why did you leave without a goodbye? Was I not good enough to say goodbye to? Did 12 years of partnership mean nothing to you? Because I will tell you something Elliot, it meant a whole damn lot to me, and I thought it meant something to you too. You don't know how many times I cried myself to sleep, thinking I did something for you to never say goodbye to me. I thought I could have done more, or it should have been me who took that shot, that way you would have still been around. I completely broke down in one of the interrogation rooms after finding out you turned in your papers. I understand why you left the force. It is no surprise after that. What really got me was the fact that you never took the time to call me, text me, or reply to anything I said. I have always been there for you. I have always backed your play and had your six. When Kathy left you, it might not have been unicorns and butterflies between us but I was still there. When you signed the papers, when you found out Kathy was pregnant with Eli, when Kathleen was busted and diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, when Dickie ran away and beat up the hobo with that two by four. I was there for it all. You knew you were right when you said you were the longest relationship I had ever had with a man. You know everything about my past, you have helped me through that crap with Simon, you were the one there for me when they took Calvin away, you saved me multiple times. You were my best friend, the only man who had never disappointed me, who had hurt me like the rest had." By this point, Olivia was furious and almost in tears at the same time. Elliot saw this and was heartbroken. He had never seen Olivia this vulnerable.

"Liv, you have to understand that I never meant to hurt you. After I shot Jenna I was such a mess. I couldn't get the images out if my head of her lying in my arms not moving. That image along with the images of you with Sister Peg, and the look on your face when it all happened. I couldn't stand to think you saw me as a child killer. I thought that what I was doing was for the best of everybody. Myself, you, everybody at the precinct. Olivia, I was no good the person I had become after that. I couldn't let you see me that way. I began to drink heavily; I was an even angrier person. Kathy finally got tired of putting up with it and kicked me out, took Eli away, and that just made things worse. For a while I wouldn't even get up out of bed. I seriously considered ending it, and you know how serious it would be for me to consider doing that. I had lost everything I had: my job, my loveless marriage, my kids, and you. After I realized my life was nothing, I was determined to get better. I promised myself as soon as I was back to the Elliot I use to be, if not better, I would come see you. Kathy eventually talked to me again and we worked out a custody agreement with Eli. I get him every other weekend, and my other kids visit when they can. Olivia… Liv, I know it is going to take a lot for me to even begin to make up for being a bastard, but I hope you can see past all of that and let me back into your life, even as a friend, because frankly I know I don't deserve to be your best friend again. Just being in your life at all is something I would be forever grateful for." Towards the end both Elliot and Olivia had tears streaming down their face.

"I will be willing to let you back into my life Elliot, but you have to earn my trust back. I can't just lay everything out for it to be shattered again. I couldn't handle it again."

"I am willing to do that. Whatever it takes I will do it."


	2. The Confrontation

**Disclaimer: Don't own them, Dick Wolf does... lucky S.O.B.**

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It had been a week since Elliot had shown up at her apartment for the first time in 3 years. Things were going pretty well. He came over for dinner a few times. He would just show up with Chinese, and wait for her to get home. He still had his emergency key she gave to him many years ago. The first time he used it she jumped a foot in the air because she wasn't expecting him to be there. He laughed; they sat there for hours just talking. He didn't go home until after one in the morning that night. The next couple times she didn't jump when she entered her apartment and he was there. He never stayed the night but they always had a good time, whether it was talking or watching a movie to unwind from the day.

Nobody at the 1-6 knew that he was back in her life, or even if he was still in the land of the living. Both Elliot and Olivia agreed that it would be better for their friendship to strengthen before he went down there. The only thing they knew was that Olivia's mood had improved drastically. It almost scared her coworkers. It was almost a complete one eighty from where she was a week ago. They thought maybe she had finally snapped and would murder someone.

Another two weeks went by and life was fantastic. Elliot and Olivia were back in sync with each other after the first week and a half back together. But this time they could be in sync as El and Liv, not Benson and Stabler. One night they sat on Olivia's couch and were watching a movie. It had been a long stressful day for Olivia. She and Elliot had agreed that watching a movie would be the perfect way to unwind. Olivia was having trouble staying awake and eventually laid her head on Elliot's shoulder. He put her arm around like it was the most natural thing in the world. She snuggled in closer to him and quickly fell asleep. Once he realized she was asleep he didn't want to disturb her to he laid down on her couch and pulled her along with him, he himself fell asleep before the end of the movie. They were rudely awakened by the sound of Olivia's alarm. They got up and Olivia got ready for her day, while Elliot went into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Olivia went into her bathroom to jump into the shower. After she was done showering, she got dressed. She wore a pair of black slacks, white cami, and red vested shirt. She brushed on some light make up and walked out of her room. She smelled the most delightful smell in the world at the moment. Elliot was standing there making breakfast. He saw her walk in and smiled his Stabler-grin at her. Neither of them had said much to the other this morning. Olivia broke the silence.

"Smells great."

"Why thank you, we have French toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon on the menu today. I figured you could actually eat real food before going to work for a change." He repliedhanding her a cup of coffee and her plate.

"Thank you so much, Elliot. Don't spoil me too much," she said "if you keep doing stuff like this, I just might have to keep you around." She joked.

"So Liv I was thinking while making breakfast this morning, and I was wondering if maybe I could come by the station today and pick you up for lunch. Plus I would like to see everyone again, and meet the rookies. That is if you don't already have plans, and you think it's a good idea. I mean if you don't then I cou-"he rambled.

She cut him off. "Elliot if that is what you want to do then I am totally fine with you coming to the precinct. As far as lunch is concerned, if we don't catch a case that keeps me too busy I would love to."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. It means a lot that you would be ok with it. How about I come around about 11 that way I can talk to people before we go to lunch?" Elliot suggested.

"Sounds fine with me, I should get going before I am late and Cragen has my ass. See you at eleven. Oh and don't forget to lock up when you leave." She smiled and waved as she left her apartment.

Elliot was completely happy with her agreeing to go to lunch with him. He cleaned up from breakfast and did the dishes. When he looked over at the clock he saw it wasn't even 9. He decided to go back to his place and get ready for lunch. Meanwhile, at the precinct Olivia was working on paperwork. They had no new cases, so paperwork was the only thing left to do. She was anxious for eleven to get there. She didn't know how everyone was going to react. Her leg was bouncing up and down like a madman. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the squad.

"Yo, baby-girl what has got you so nervous?" Fin asked not being able to take it anymore.

"Yeah, Liv I have never seen you like this. Are you on something because lately you haven't been the Olivia I have known since I started here." Nick asked warily.

"Maybe the government got to her and placed chemicals in her house so she has been acting differently." Munch suggested.

"Shut up, you old bony coot. The government didn't get to her." Fin argued.

Olivia didn't want to deal with those two arguing and putting them in a bitter mood before Elliot showed up so she quickly spoke up.

"Fin is right Munch the government didn't get to me. As for why I am nervous you will just have to wait for later today to find that one out." She smirked. She heard her phone vibrate and she looked down and saw she had a text message from Elliot. The smile on her face grew. At this point it was about 10:15 a.m. She opened the text.

**So are we still on for lunch?**

_Yes we are, I am nervous about you coming down to the precinct and the squad has noticed, like they are detectives or something lol._

**Lol, no not those guys, and why are you nervous honey?**

Did he just call me honey? He must have accidently typed it not thinking, she thought.

_Just scared to see how they will react._

**Well calm down, everything will be fine, I promise. I will see you in about half an hour. Bye babe.**

She was confused now. First he called her honey then babe. She liked him a lot, but they weren't even dating and he was calling her honey and babe. She shook it off as just not realizing what he was typing.

Half an hour passed and she was waiting for him to walk through the doors. Cragen just came out of his office and spoke.

"Olivia, Munch, Fin, can you come to my office please?"

They all looked around at each other and questioned what this was about. They shrugged at each other and just walked into captain's office. He shut the door to his office. A few minutes later Elliot comes walking into the squad room. He started looking around for Olivia. She was still in the captain's office with Fin and Munch. He didn't see a familiar face the only people he saw were a young man with black hair and a young blonde woman. He looked almost confused. Nick had seen him enter and walked over when the man looked around.

"Can I help you?" Nick asked

"I am looking for Detective Benson. Do you know where she is?" Elliot asked the younger man, not knowing who he was.

"She is in the captain's office; she should be out any moment. Is there anything I can help you with?" Nick asked wondering who this man was and why this man was looking for his partner.

Just a he was about to answer he saw the three detectives he knew and his former captain walk out of the office. He smiled when he saw everyone. Everyone saw him as soon as they were all out of the office and everyone except Olivia had stopped and stared like they had just seen a ghost. Both Nick and Amanda were confused as to why this person had caused this reaction. Munch was the first one to say something.

"Well I be damned if it isn't Elliot Stabler in the flesh and blood. How are you man?"

"Hey John, I am good. Hey Fin, hey Cap." Elliot responded.

"Elliot, it is great to see you here, but why are you here exactly?" Cragen asked.

"Well actually I am here to pick Liv up for lunch, but I came early to talk to you guys and see everyone." Elliot answered his former boss. Everyone looked over at Olivia who was watching everything unfold in front of her. They wanted to see how she was going to react to him being there, unaware of the fact that those two were closer than before he left.

"So you are the Elliot Stabler we have heard all about." Amanda said breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"That would be me. And I am sure what you heard was not good, but I deserve it and am here to make everything up to my friends." He said looking at them. By this time Olivia had walked over to stand beside Elliot, they were basically holding hands. Everyone was looking at them like they had each sprouted another head. Finally Cragen asked the question everyone had been dying to ask.

"Olivia you're ok with him?"

"Yes, I am. He showed up to my apartment about a month ago and we talked. Well… after I hit him," she smirked, and watched her coworkers do the same, "we talked over everything, and we are friends again. We are even closer friends now than we were before if that's possible. He comes over to hang out at my apartment and we're not dating, for those wondering, but I have forgiven him, and we are happy to be friends again." She said with a smile on her face.

Fin, who hadn't said a word since he saw Elliot standing there, was still shooting him daggers. Finally he said something. "No offense baby-girl, but have you lost your god damn mind. He walked out of here and never said a word to any of us. For three years you hadn't heard from him. One night he knocks on your door and all of a sudden you are best friends again?" he then tuned to Elliot "You have a lot of balls showing up after what you did to her. I don't know if she told you this but I am going to say it anyway. She was so broken because you decided to be an ass, like always, and just leave. I don't care that you didn't talk to the rest of us, but she deserved something more. You are lucky I don't beat your ass here and now. She cried for every night for weeks because of you. All I have to say is if you every hurt her again, you don't have to worry about anything because I will hunt you down, and kill you myself, and I won't regret it one bit. I am sure Munch, Cragen and every other male in Olivia's life would agree."

"I deserved that Fin, and I would never do anything to hurt her again on purpose. Frankly though what you said to Olivia in the beginning was unnecessary. She is an amazing person for forgiving me because I know I sure as hell don't deserve it. She has not lost her mind, and I don't appreciate what you said." Elliot said back.


	3. The Question

**Disclaimer: They all belong to Dick Wolf and he didn't get Benson and Stabler together... what a waste!**

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By this time Fin was still glaring at what Elliot said to him. Fin and Elliot had never been the best of friends, but they were pals. That was until Elliot left and shattered Olivia. Now it was no secret that Fin thought of her as his little sister and what do most big brothers do when their little sister gets hurt. Go after the asshole that hurt her. Now for Fin this was a bit hard to do considering that for 3 years no one had heard from Elliot. Now that Elliot was in the precinct though, Fin wasn't just going to stand by and welcome him with open arms. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a sword. Everyone was standing waiting for one of them to say something or move. Neither did a thing just stared each other down. Eventually Olivia spoke up.

"El, let's go get lunch." She gently placed her hand on his arm. Just like it always had for 12 years, he calmed down immediately.

"Ok, where would you like to go?" he asked as though none of what just happened took place.

"How about we go get Chinese down the street that is if Cap says it's ok for me to leave for lunch." Olivia replied looking at her superior for approval.

"Go on you two go take a lunch, and Elliot when you bring her back I would like to talk to you." Cragen told with an unemotional tone.

"Yes, sir." Elliot responded with a slight smirk. He then turned around and grabbed Liv's coat and held it open for her. As they walked away Elliot put his hand on her lower back. Everyone was still standing there from what had happened between Fin and Elliot. They all stood there for a moment more and captain told everyone to get back to work.

Meanwhile at the restaurant they were waiting for their food to get done. They sat at the table and were sort of silent. Finally Elliot talked.

"I'm sorry for making a big deal out of all of that. I just didn't like what he was implying." He looked at her and waited for her reaction.

"There is no need to apologize. If it were you he was attacking like that I would have stepped up." She commented with a smile.

"But I didn't need you to defend me to him. I'm not saying you needed me to do it for you, but he was right about me. I deserved everything he said to me." He said grabbing her hand across the table. They both felt the spark when they held hands. He then continued.

"Liv… this isn't easy for me to say, and I know I don't deserve you. I was wondering if you would like to go on an official date with me tomorrow night." He was nervous to see her reaction. She just stared at him processing what had just happened. The man she has been in love with for the past 14 years asked her on a date. The look on his face was starting to turn worried when she didn't respond in a few minutes. He took his hand away from hers. They both missed the contact right away.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I thought you wanted to I must have gotten the wrong impression. If you want we can pretend I never said anything. I just don't want to ruin our friendship." He rambled out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down Elliot. I would love to go out on a date with you. I was just trying to figure out if I was hearing things. You weren't wrong when you thought I had feelings for you. I do have feelings for you, and I would be honored to go on a date with you." She stated smiling at him, and he smiled back at her with his Stabler-grin that she loves.

Finally their food came and they ate while holding hands across the table. They ate food off of each other's plates just like old times and they enjoyed just being in each other's company. After a half an hour they headed back to the precinct hand in hand. When they got up to the squad room they dropped hands. They had decided not to tell the squad until after a few dates. They agreed to tell Cragen though. Elliot knocked on Cragen's door and waited to be told to enter.

"Well first off I would like to say welcome back into our lives. It is great to see you two close friends again." Cragen said with a smile on his face.

"Well, Captain, Don, I was actually going to talk to you about that. Liv and I have decided to start dating. We both agreed that you should know, because you are like a father figure to her, but we are not going to tell the squad yet." Elliot said scared to see what his former boss was going to say.

"Well it's about damn time," Cragen smiled. "I would have figured I would have had to talk to you guys about this years ago. I am happy for you. Although I will say this, Olivia is like my daughter and if you hurt her again, both Fin and I will be hunting you down. Is that understood?" Cragen asked with a stern voice and face.

"Yes it is, and like I told Fin, I plan on never hurting her ever again. In all honesty I love her way too much. I didn't think leaving the way I did would affect her as much as it did." Elliot cringed. He hated thinking about what he did to Olivia.

"As long as we are understood here, you are free to go," Cragen acting as if he were still Elliot's commanding officer.

Elliot stepped out of Cragen's office and was heading to Olivia's desk to tell her bye, when he heard screeching. He looked up and saw his two favorite ADAs standing in the doorway. Alex and Casey made their way over to him and hugged him. After doing so they slapped him in the shoulder. They were pissed off at him too, but unlike Fin they were happy to see him. They dragged him out into the hallway to talk to him.

"What are you doing here?" Casey asked.

"Well I just got back from lunch with a certain brown haired detective," He smirked, knowing that they were going to go bother Olivia for all the details.

"So you just appeared here today and asked her to lunch? Wow, you have a lot of balls Stabler," Alex said astounded.

"Not exactly, I have been back in Liv's life for about month now," Elliot replied.

"What?!" Both of the ADA's had gasped at the same time.

"And she didn't tell us. Oh I am going to have some words with her," Casey said ready to go yell at Olivia.

"Well to be fair she didn't tell anyone so don't bother her too much about it. Please," Elliot pleaded.

"Fine, I guess I will play nice," Casey rolled her eyes.

"Thank you," Elliot grinned.

Elliot walked back into the squad room and said goodbye to Olivia and gave her a big hug. He informed her that he would be at her apartment when she got home, and then he yelled goodbye to the squad and left.

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Next chapter will be the date! Hope to have it up soon! Review if you feel compelled to. If there is something you would like to see either leave it in a review or PM me.


	4. The Date

I had such wonderful feed back from the first three chapters. I am really glad you guys are enjoying this story. So here is the next chapter of my story. It actually was written faster than I thought it was going to be. I'm not sure when the the next chapter will be up, because I am going to be busy during the next week getting ready to go back to college. I will try to get it up sometime next week.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, Elliot would have never left and EO would be canon. They belong to Dick Wolf.

So without further ado, the next chapter of "When Love Comes Knocking"

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It was the following evening, and Olivia was standing in her apartment, in front of her closet, trying to decide what she was going to wear. She had showered, did her make-up, and only had to put a few finishing touched on her hair after she got dressed. Elliot would be there in 45 minutes so she had to hurry.

She had narrowed her outfit choices down to two choices. Choice number one was tight, dark wash, skinny jeans, a wine colored, low cut, scoop neck shirt, with leather boots. Outfit number two was black slacks, a dark blue, v-neck shirt, and a pair of black flats. She decided that the first outfit would be better for a date while the second one would be better suited for work. She quickly put on her outfit, and put the finishing touches on her hair, which she had straightened. Her hair was similar to what it had looked like in the eighth year of their partnership, without the blond streaks and her bangs swept to one side instead of going straight across. She spritzed on the perfume that he loved when he knocked on her door.

Olivia walked over to the door and took a deep breath before she opened it. She wasn't completely sure why she was nervous, it was just Elliot. Well that answered her question, it was Elliot, the man who knew her inside and out.

She snapped out of her thoughts, and realized that he was staring at her and scanning her body up and down. She gave him a once over. He was wearing a blue shirt that made his eyes sparkle a shade that she had never seen before, and faded blue jeans that made his ass look great. His mouth was hanging open and she wasn't sure what it meant. He realized that he was staring and that she was getting self-conscious.

"Liv... you look fantastic," Elliot commented stunned.

"Thanks, you don't look to bad yourself," she joked with a hint of seriousness in her voice to let him know that it was true.

"Well, I try," he smirked "Let's get going shall we?" he held out his hand for her to grab. She grabbed his hand and they walked out the door, locking it behind her.

They got into Elliot's car, and went off to their destination, that only he knew where it was. She wasn't normally a fan of surprises when going on dates, because you never know what a guy might think of, especially when you do the kind of work she does. With Elliot though, she knew that she had no reason to be afraid. They pulled up to a park, and Elliot opened the door for Olivia. After doing so, he walks over to the trunk of the car, and from there pulls out a blanket and a picnic basket. They start walking around the park.

"El, where are we walking to?" Olivia questions, a bit curious as to where they were going.

"You will see. Do you trust me Liv?" he asks. She simply nods and they walk over to a secluded spot by the lake and he lays out the blanket. She gasps at the sight.

"Oh El, its lovely," she smiled. The temperature was just right by the lake and the sun was setting to make it romantic.

"Well only the best for my girl," he states as he gets the food out of the basket. He scoots over to and puts his arm around her. She leans into his embrace. She enjoys being wrapped up in his arms, it has always made her feel safe. Their peace was interrupted by Liv's stomach growling, and they both chuckle.

"Sorry about that, I missed out on lunch because of our case." she apologizes.

"It's quite alright, I remember what it was like honey." he replies, and she blushes. She still isn't used to being called pet names, especially by El.

They start to eat. Elliot had made chicken fettuccini alfredo, and cheesy garlic bread. For dessert he had turtle cheesecake, which he knew was Olivia's weakness. He had also bought a bottle of fancy red wine, which he knew she would love. As Olivia was eating she would make what he thought were the most adorable and yet sexy faces and noises. They had some chatter while eating, but no big conversation was happening.

"So how are the kids?" Olivia spoke up. She had heard a little here and there about them, mainly that they were doing good, and that they were busy, but she figured she should ask about them. Those kids were a part of her life for 12 years. She had done so much for them and they always made her feel like she was part of the family.

"Well, I don't see a whole lot of Maureen and Kathleen. They are busy with their jobs. Maureen is an OB/GYN at Mercy General, just finished her residency about 8 months ago and is enjoying her job immensely. She is married actually." he beamed proudly. "She met a guy named Ryan Johnson when she was in graduate school. He is an accountant for some big corporation that I never remember the name of, but he enjoys his job and loves my daughter."

"Wow, I am happy for her." Olivia smiled. She always had a feeling Maureen would do something big and wonderful with her life. She was always trying to be her best, and wanted to help people.

"Kathleen is working for a fashion magazine right now. She just finished getting her degree in journalism, and they are giving her a chance to write articles for them. If she does a good job, they will give her a more permanent position. She is taking her medication still which I am still grateful that you went and talked to my mother." He said softly.

"Lizzie is currently studying to become a lawyer at NYU, she eventually wants to become the SVU A.D.A. Dickie, or should I say Richard, is studying to become a software designer. He has a love for computers, so he thought that it would be a good major for him to try, and so far he loves it. He is currently going to Hudson." Again he had a proud look on his face, and honestly he had every right to have it. His older kids were great kids, sure they got into trouble every once in a while, but what kids didn't.

"You are forgetting my favorite Elliot Stabler!" she joked. At hearing this El looked over and started tickling her mercilessly. Finally she gave in and he stopped tickling her. After they had both settled he spoke up again.

"I was getting there," he stated "Eli is doing great, he is seven and a half already. He will be starting the first grade in a few weeks. Like you know, he stays at my apartment every other weekend, but Kathy usually lets me see him whenever I want. He does remember you, in case you were wondering. He doesn't remember a whole lot from when I was at SVU, but I have pictures of you around the apartment and we talk about you. In fact this weekend is my weekend with him, and I was going to see if you wanted to come over and spend it with us. That is if you don't have work, or any other plans." He asked a bit timidly.

"Well, I will have to ask my other boyfriend if it's ok with hi-" she was cut off with him once again tickling her. After he stopped, and she could breathe again she answered "of course El, I would love to spend time with you and Eli. This upcoming weekend is Fin and Amanda's weekend to catch anyway, so work won't be an issue."

Elliot knew that Olivia had a soft spot for Eli since she was there when he was brought into the world and was the first one to actually hold him. He knew that she loved all of his kids.

By this time, the sun had long set, and the temperature was dropping. Olivia hadn't thought to bring a jacket since she didn't think it would be getting chilly, and was now slightly shivering. Seeing this, Elliot took it upon himself to wrap his arm around her and suggest they leave. She was all for going back home, since she had to work in the morning. What neither of them wanted though was for the night to end. They walked to the car hand in hand, and Elliot opened her door for her. They drove back to Olivia's apartment, and Elliot walked up to the apartment with her. They decided to sit on the couch for a little while. Soon Olivia was fast asleep on Elliot's shoulder. When he saw this he decided it was best to put her in her bed. He picked her up bridal style and carried her into her room, he pulled back her blankets and set her down and covered her up. He gazed at her for a few minutes, thinking about how beautiful she was, and how lucky he was that she was giving him the chance to be what she needed. Just as he was getting up to leave, her hand grabbed his wrist and she barely opened her eyes.

"Stay" she said, it wasn't a question, yet it wasn't a command, it was a mere suggestion.

With that he pulled back the covers on the other side and slipped into the bed with her. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat, and was quickly back asleep. He wrapped his arms around her, and soon fell asleep. It was the best night's sleep either of them had ever had.

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Next up: A weekend with the kids, how will they react to someone they haven't seen in 3 years?


	5. The Weekend

I am so sorry about the delay in posting, college has been keeping me somewhat busy, and I had a horrible case of writer's block. I knew how I wanted this chapter to happen, but I wasn't sure how to completely convey it in words. I'm not entirely happy with how this chapter turned out, but it's ok enough for me to post. Again, I don't have a beta, so all mistakes are mine. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Review if you feel compelled to do so.

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The weekend had come quickly and soon it was time for Olivia to spend time with Elliot and Eli. Little did she know, she was going to be surprised with guests. After she had agreed to spend the weekend with El and Eli, Elliot had got to thinking. He wanted to gather all of his kids in one place so they could all see Olivia again. He knew how much his kids meant to her, and how much she meant to them in return. He had called all of his kids, and told them that he wanted to spend some quality time with them. He told them that they had no choice and they needed to come over. What he left out though, was that Olivia was also going to be there. He told the kids to be at his apartment by six, and he knew that Olivia probably wouldn't be at his place until around six thirty, seeing she had to finish up her paperwork from the past weeks cases.

At about ten till six Richard and Lizzie had showed up, taking one car to save gas. They were greeted by an excited Eli, who hadn't seen him in a while since they had been busy with college. Roughly five minutes later Maureen and Ryan show up. Kathleen was five minutes late to the apartment, explaining she had to make sure the editor of the magazine got her article so it would be printed in the next edition of the magazine.

Six forty-five rolled around and there was a knock on the door.

"Kids, can you get that for me. I am finishing dinner right now." Elliot asked knowing who was at the door and that this would be interesting.

Lizzie got up and opened the door with her siblings behind her, because this was New York after all and you never know who would be on the other side of the door. When they opened the door, they didn't expect Olivia Benson to be on the other side.

Olivia also had no idea that the older kids would be joining them. In her arms she had a present for Eli, because she had known she was spending time with him. Everyone just stood in shock for a moment, not knowing what to say or think. They just stared at each other. Finally when the shock wore off everyone, except for Ryan of course, went to hug Liv. She was happy that they had all been excited to see her. She was just as excited to see them. She made her rounds hugging each child or, now in the case of everyone but Eli, adult. They were all so excited to see her that they were bombarding her with questions all at once and she couldn't keep up. Elliot seeing that she was slightly overwhelmed came in to the room to save her.

"Guys… guys," he said, but they couldn't hear him over all their chatter "GUYS!" he finally had to yell.

That quieted everyone down. They all looked at him.

"Take turns asking questions, she can answer what she wants, but she can't answer you all at once." He suggested, and he saw the thankful look on her face when he looked back at her.

"Let me get this out of the way before we start questions, your father knew that I was coming over here for the weekend, I knew that Eli was going to be here, but I was not aware that you older ones were going to be here," She shot an evil, yet teasing glare at Elliot "I am so glad to see all of you guys, it's been forever, and I have missed all of you."

Richard spoke up for the group, "well, if it makes you feel any better, dad didn't tell us you were coming over either." That time everyone gave Elliot _the_ look.

"Hey with all fairness, I wanted to surprise all of you." He said with his hands in the air, like he was surrendering. Everyone rolled their eyes at him, and they turned back to Liv. The kids asked their questions and Olivia answered the ones she could with the truth. She was formally introduced to Maureen's husband Ryan. She gave Eli his gift, which was a set of hot wheels cars. He absolutely love them and went off to play with them, but was stopped.

"You can play with them after dinner Eli, go wash your hands and then we are going to eat." Eli wasn't entirely satisfied with the answer, but decided arguing with his father wasn't a good idea.

Everyone gathered around the table and was eating. There was a slight chatter, but even when it was quiet it was never awkward. They decided to watch a movie, and the kids would just crash at the apartment for the night. They decided to watch Man of Steel, it had the action for the guys, and the girls could look at Henry Cavill, well Olivia actually liked Colonel Hardy better, he reminded her of El. Liv and El were seated on the love seat, Ryan and Maureen, were cuddled on one end of the couch and Lizzie was sitting on the other end, and Richard and Kathleen were sitting on the floor. Eli chose to go play with his gift in his room, rather than watch the movie with the adults.

About half way through the movie everyone was falling asleep, and they decided to stop the movie and call it a night.

"Ryan and Maureen, you guys can take the spare room, Richard you can take the bottom bunk in Eli's room if you want. Kathleen and Lizzie you guys can fight over who get the couch and who gets the love seat. Liv and I are going into my room." When Elliot said that all of the kids made a oooh noise.

"Knock it off guys, you are all more mature than that." Elliot growled with a tiredness in his voice.

"Night guys, see ya in the morning." Liv said walking into El's bedroom, with him right behind her.

They climbed into bed and slept peacefully all night, wrapped in each other's arms. When Elliot woke up the next morning, he was staring at Olivia taking in how beautiful she was, and wondering how he got lucky for her to let him back into her life. A little later she started stirring in his arms, and he snapped back to the land of here and now. She looked up at him with sleep still in her eyes.

"Good morning, baby." She mumbled sleepily and tilted her head up to kiss him.

"Good morning to you too, honey." He replied and kissed her again.

"So what are we going to do today?" Liv asked a little more awake than she previously was. I was thinking we could all go out for breakfast, and then do something as a family.

At the word family Olivia tensed up a bit. She had never been really a part of a family. Sure she considered everyone at the 1-6 to be like her family but they never got together and did things like a family. They were more of the supportive, if you need something don't be afraid to ask type of family. Not really the lets go out ask a group for a meal and hang out with each other on our day off type of family.

Feeling Olivia tense up, he rubbed her back and decided that maybe that wasn't the correct word to use quite yet. She was still trying to get use to the idea of them dating and here he was throwing out the word family to her like it's nothing he figured.

She thought about it, and realized that she really was part of this family and that she needed to learn to accept that. She had no intentions of ever letting Elliot go, she knew for a long time that if she ever got the chance to be with him that he was the last guy who would ever have any part of her. He already has all of her, he just wasn't completely aware of it. She already knew that she would never run from him. They had done enough running from each other.

"I would love nothing more than to have a family outing." She told him with a smile on her face.

Elliot could feel his heart swell when she used the word family, and had the biggest smile on his face.

Everyone got up, and they all went out to breakfast, and talked about the most recent happenings in their lives. After breakfast they went to the mall and they separated, girls went with Liv, guys went with El. Olivia realized how much she had truly missed spending time with the Stabler clan and that she would have to work something out with them so they could hang out occasionally. After the mall the older kids all had other things they needed to do with the rest of their weekends so they drove back to Elliot's apartment, and then after some tearful goodbyes, went their separate ways.

Elliot, Olivia and Eli went back up to Elliot's apartment and Eli took a nap, exhausted from the excitement of the day. Elliot and Olivia sat on the couch cuddling and relaxing while watching TV.

"You know that I love you right?" Elliot asked during a commercial.

Olivia's head whipped up to look at him quickly, not because she was caught off guard by what he was saying, but because he was questioning that she knew about his feelings for her.

"Of course I know you love me El, and I sure as hell hope you know that I love you too." She said to him.

"I know you do, I can see it in your eyes whenever you look at me, I have always been able to read you and your eyes."

"Likewise baby. Just know that nothing would ever make me stop loving you." She leans up to kiss him

"Olivia Benson, I love you with all my heart." He said with his voice cracking with emotion.

With tears in her eyes she replied "Elliot Stabler, I love you with all my heart."

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So there you have it. The first "I love you's" of the story. Trust me there will be plenty more of them. Let me know if there is anything you would like to see in this story, and I will take it into consideration if it's not too extreme.


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